


South Grad - Crazy capitalized

by Former_Princess



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: AUS are life, Alternate Universe - Bar/Pub, Alternate Universe - Human, Drag Queens, Gay Bar, Human!Thiam, M/M, Multi, Mutual Pining, Slow Build, because Drag Queens are everything, so have this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-14
Updated: 2017-12-14
Packaged: 2019-02-14 21:03:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13016088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Former_Princess/pseuds/Former_Princess
Summary: Theo is a notorious workaholic and has literally no friends in town but a bad day at work seem to change it when he meets the young barkeeper Liam. Liam is so different than Theo and drags Theo into his world of the entertainment district South Grad.





	South Grad - Crazy capitalized

If there was a competition being held for bad days, Theo was absolutely sure this day would take the cake. It had started with someone spilling coffee over his new dress shirt, causing Theo to almost being late for work because he was in the bathroom trying to clean himself; then his boss - already in a bad mood- had scolded him for the coffee stain on his shirt, proceeded to diss the progress Theo made in the project he was working on and used the team meeting to make a fool out of him. Rosie, who was working in the office across from Theo, had looked absolutely delighted. Since he started working for the company she hated his guts and never held back with snarky comments. 

To say Theo was annoyed and done with the day when he finally could leave work, was an understatement. He drove home, grabbed his gym bag and then drove to the gym to punch the sandbag repeatedly but even that didn’t help. And so, after he took a shower and changed into casual clothes, Theo was in desperate need of a drink. Or several drinks. He wasn’t picky about that one. Leaving his gym back in his car, Theo decided said car was perfectly parked in the parking lot of the gym and he could always take a cab later on. It was Friday (thank god!) but since he basically had no friends in the city, he also had nobody to pick him up after he drank. A cab would do for sure. 

A cab was also what he slid into after leaving the parking lot since he had no idea where the next bar was around. “To the nearest bar with decent drinks.” He told the cab driver and the man frowned and looked in the rearview mirror. “I could bring you to South Grad, there you have as many bars as you would like. But it’s not the most classy area around.”  
“Fine by me. A drink is a drink, classy or not, right?” Theo said and leaned back while the cab rolled onto the street. He didn’t care about the way, he cared that he got something strong to drink. Since he had moved to the city, he rarely paid attention to the town he lived in and rather focused on his work. The opportunity he had was truly something and he would not waste in in favor of exploring the city. That was also the reason why he had no idea where the cabbie was driving him to but when they stopped after a while, Theo realized they were close to the harbor. He paid the driver, even with a tip, and then left the cab.

He put his hands in the pockets of his bomber jacket and just walked straight ahead. In front of him were several narrow winding streets filled with all kinds of establishments, nightclubs, bars, some restaurants, strip clubs and the people populating the streets were colorful, loud, and exactly what you would expect in a district like that.

Theo stopped by the first bar he came across and stepped inside. It was dimly lit and the blue neon sign above the bar bathed everything in a sick blueish light. But Theo couldn’t care less when he sat down at the bar and ordered a whiskey on the rocks for himself. He needed alcohol and he needed it asap! The barkeep didn’t pester him like some other might tend to do but instead handed the finished drink over and then walked to the other end of the bar to clean glasses. Theo sipped his drink and grimaced at the burn in his throat. That’s what he needed after today.

It took two more drinks for Theo to realize that the last thing he ate today was during his lunch break and it had only been a salad and a granola bar. Maybe he should lay the foundation for drinking since he didn’t plan on throwing up cause he drank too much on an empty stomach. So he paid and then left the bar, intending to find the next restaurant and eat the greasiest thing on the menu. 

The nearest restaurant was a Diner two doors over and Theo sat down at the counter again, hazel eyes wandering over the menu on the wall. An elderly waitress with rosy cheeks and short pastel purple hair hurried over to him and took his order for a grilled cheese sandwich with bacon. The Diner was empty aside from an old man in one booth solving crossword puzzles and a younger couple making out in the other booth and sharing a milkshake (Theo almost gagged at the cliché) so his order didn’t take long and he could indulge in his food. The waitress didn’t try to talk to him and rather talked with the chef who left his kitchen to bear her company behind the counter. 

The door to the Diner opened when Theo was halfway through with his sandwich. “Joy, Manny, how are you today?” The newcomer asked and leaned over the counter to press a kiss against the elderly woman’s cheek and high-five the chef.   
“As healthy as two squirrels in a tree.” Joy answered with a giggle. The other chuckled and then looked at the chef. “Manny, I need two six-packs of your delicious beer. I lost a bet and as you know betting debts are debts of honor.” He ordered and Manny nodded and walked back into the kitchen to get the ordered beverage. It gave Theo time to check out the newcomer. He was younger, around Theo’s age probably, and dressed in a black dress shirt and black jeans which really accentuated the great ass he was having. His light brown hair was cut short and sweaty and disheveled as if he had run his hands through it several times. While he waited for the beer his full lips were almost constantly moving when he talked with the waitress and his ice blue eyes sparkled with happiness. Even with the pale lightning of the tube lights on his fair skin, he looked healthy and really fucking attractive and Theo enjoyed the view immensely. 

Manny came back and put the two six packs on the counter. “Why are you even betting?”  
“Because Brett talked shit, as always.” The young man grinned and handed the cash over before grabbing the beer. “One day I will win against him, you will see!” He said while walking to the door again. “See you, guys. And, Manny, don’t eat too many fries, you need to watch your cholesterol.”  
Theo bit in his sandwich to hide his chuckle. That had been cute. Great ass obviously was not only sexy but also cute and caring, who had thought? Good to know those people still existed, even though Theo knew he wasn’t such a person himself. No, Theo - and that was something he had made his peace with overtime - was an asshole, a lone wolf. He worked best with that, something he experienced several times now. Starting with his family over so-called friends who betrayed him in the end, Theo had learned to only rely on himself. That way nobody could disappoint him. 

Theo finished his sandwich, paid and then left the Diner, intending to find the next bar and drink again now that his stomach was full. Intending being the key word because he just passed a smaller alley when he caught glimpse of a girl pressed against the wall by a guy who obviously tried to kiss her. She was squirming and trying to push him away but she was no match for his physical strength when he held her hands. And self-declared asshole or not, Theo could not watch that. So he stepped up and grabbed the guy by his shoulder. “Dude, don’t you see she’s uncomfortable?” He asked while pulling him back. The girl squeaked and shot him a grateful look. 

“What is your problem? Can’t you see you’re disturbing the fun we were having?” The guy growled and Theo scrunched hid nose when he smelled the alcohol in the guy’s beath.   
“It wasn't fun. You tried to kiss me and I said no.” The girl said and he glared at her before grabbing her arm. “We’re on a date, don’t play coy now!” He ordered angrily and she whimpered when his grip obviously hurt her. Theo narrowed his eyes and now it was him who gripped the guy’s wrist and twisted it painfully, causing him to let the girl go. 

“Not cool!” Theo hissed while the girl ran. The guy growled and stumbled back when Theo let him go. He glared at Theo but he simply didn’t care and instead turned around to walk away from the drunk man as well. He tried at least, but suddenly he has swung around and a fist collided with his nose. Theo groaned and held his nose when pain blossomed from there through his whole face. He felt blood pouring out and slumped against the wall. He expected another hit but suddenly a guy the size of a bear was between them and grabbed the drunk guy. “Didn’t we have a talk about you causing trouble last time?” He asked in a deep voice and dragged the drunkard away. Theo was still holding his nose and blinked against the tears in his eyes from the unexpected pain and suddenly the guy Theo had checked out at the Diner was in front of him.  
“Hey, you okay?” He asked worriedly and gently grabbed Theo’s wrist to pull his hand away from his nose. “Fuck, he got you good.”  
“You think?” Theo groaned and held his nose again, trying to stop the bleeding. Great ass bit his lower lip and seemed to think about it, then he grabbed Theo’s arm. “Come with me.”

He had said it like Theo had a choice but he then turned around and pulled Theo along with him. Out of the alley they were in but into another alley and then towards the back door of a building which he opened with a key and Theo followed because he was mad at the guy who punched him, in pain from the punch and because this was the fitting finish for his crappy day. Why not follow the stranger into what looked like the back of a club and through a small hallway right into a small office where the guy pressed him on the crappy red sofa in the corner and then picked up a first aid kit from next to the desk and then sat down next to Theo to inspect his nose? He tilted Theo’s head back and Theo briefly wondered why he let this happen but the guy’s touches were just so soft and comforting, he had it not in him to refuse the treatment. 

“I don’t think your nose is broken. It doesn’t look broken anyway.” He cleaned the blood from Theo’s nose and then pressed a wet washcloth against it to stop the bleeding from getting too much again. “Hold this for a few moments, it should stop the bleeding.” He instructed and took Theo’s hand to put it on the washcloth. Theo blinked but kept his hand where it was and after a few minutes the bleeding really stopped, thanks to the cooling from the washcloth. Lowering his head again, he took the washcloth away.

“Thanks.” He said and the guy nodded and nudged a trashcan with his foot so Theo could throw the washcloth into it before he stepped closer and inspected Theo’s face.   
“Still a bit red but not bloody anymore. Would be a shame if your pretty face was spoilt by that.” He winked at Theo’s surprised face and Theo could not help but chuckle. Look at that, the guy could also flirt.  
“To be honest, it would be the perfect finish for the shitty day I just had.”   
“Ah, bad day. Makes sense you came to South Grad then.”  
“Is that so? Why?” Theo asked and raised an eyebrow. The guy chuckled.  
“Because 90% of the people around came here after a bad day and most never really left. The other 10% only want fun.”  
“Uh uh.” Theo nodded. “What exactly is this area?”  
The guy looked surprised. “You don’t know about South Grad? Are you new in town?”  
“Not new I just never had time to explore so this is my first time here. Why? Is South Grad a household name?” Theo asked amused. The guy grinned and then nodded in the direction of the door. “Come on, I’ll show you what South Grad is all about.”

“I don’t even know your name.” Theo realized but still got up from the couch. The guy held out his hand. “I’m Liam, nice to meet you.”  
“Theo.” Theo introduced himself and shook Liam’s hand, before following him outside. On their way out, Liam started to explain.   
“South Grad is the entertainment district of the town. Here land the people who didn’t get to experience the bright side of society.”  
“You didn't get to experience the bright side of society?” Theo asked. It was surprising cause Liam looked like a nice guy, attractive and also really well-mannered, so what could have gone wrong?  
Liam looked over his shoulder while he pushed the door to the street opened and stepped outside. “Take a look around. You have many bars, strip clubs, and gay clubs here, drag shows, and it’s mostly all done by people who are not like society tells them to be. People society would rather shun and ignore, so they gathered around here. They are great people but most of them can give you a lot of stories about ignorance, judgment, and prejudices.” He explained without really answering Theo’s question but Theo decided not to push it. He rather followed Liam down the street. 

“There are also lots of cultures gathering around here, blending together and creating this colorful place filled with life. I came here years ago while I was in college and sweet eighteen years old, not even old enough to enter most establishments here.”  
“How old are you now?”  
“Twenty-three.” Liam said with a smile and Theo felt himself smile back. What? The guy’s smile was too cute to resist.

He now looked around again. Liam had brought them on the “main street”, a wider street where most alleys diverted from. He pointed at the building they had just rounded. “One of the best strip clubs around. Caters to all needs, female and male. We don’t judge, that’s the mantra. Basically the mantra of the whole district.” He waved a young man dressed in nothing but grey sweatpants and black converse who took a drag from his cigarette a few feet away from the entrance of the club. He waved back at Liam with a bright smile.   
“That’s Brett, one of the dancers.” Liam explained Theo and passed the strip club in favor of wandering further down the street. “South Grad is - according to the city guide - the artistic part of town where art meets culture. The art thing is true but not in the way that we have museums here but drag is an art form, so are the dancers and performers, heck even the chefs in the restaurants are artists, the tattoo artists around. We are not high class but we are creative and that’s what counts.”

Theo nodded along with Liam’s explanation. He couldn’t help but notice how many people, men, women, Drag Queens, and other people walked past them and talked to Liam, hugged him, and kissed his cheeks. It was all very familiar. “You guys seem to be very close.” He commented.  
“Here at South Grad, we are one big family. Sure some people can’t stand each other but when push comes to shove we stick together. I have made the best friends here and I consider those people my family, yeah.” Liam cast a curious look at Theo. “What about you? Any family in town?”  
Theo shook his head. “I don't talk to my family anymore.”   
Liam’s mouth formed an ‘oh’ shape but he nodded. He obviously didn’t hear this for the first time. “You said you had a bad day? A fight with your girlfriend?”

He was so curious and open, Theo couldn’t stop answering. Something about Liam pulled him in and made him willing to keep the conversation going. “I don’t have a girlfriend. And no boyfriend either. Single and workaholic.”  
Liam snickered. “What are you doing for a living?”  
“I work for a publishing company.”  
“That’s cool.”  
Theo just shrugged. It was repetitive most days if he was being honest, lots of paperwork and not the good kind of paperwork he had expected. “It mostly consists of me sitting at my desk in my suit and look through the paperwork.”

“Ah, you’re a SZ.”  
“SZ?” Theo asked.  
“Suit Zombie. The ones who hang out in their offices all day, grab a salad for lunch and are so busy and successful.”  
Theo laughed. “That’s pretty much what I’m doing, yeah.”  
Liam gave him a look, blue eyes wandering over Theo’s appearance. “That’s really a shame.” He finally said and when he looked back at Theo’s face, he smirked and winked again. And Theo really hoped the light from the neon lights around them didn’t make it look like he was blushing. Theo Raeken didn’t blush but damn this guy knew how to flirt. He grinned back. “I never had the motivation to change that, until now.” He gave back, going for a flirty undertone. Liam’s eyes sparkled with mirth and he laughed before turning around and leading Theo directly into a bar named Purple Heel. On a small stage stood yet another Drag Queen and did her show and Theo followed Liam to the bar. 

“This is my workplace.” Liam explained and leaned against the counter. “Corey, two shots...make it four. For each of us” He looked at Theo who stepped next to him. “You drink, right?”  
“Bet you sweet ass I do.” Theo replied and Liam grinned. His colleague, Corey, put the ordered drinks in front of them and Liam handed one glass over to Theo. “As you can see, the program consists of Drag Queens. Lovely people, really. Even some of them can be downright mean.”  
“Are you talking trash about me again, puppy?” A Drag Queen with a black wig and lots of makeup in white and blue on her face and dressed in a blue and white dress stepped next to him. Liam grinned at her. "Well, if the shoe fits, wear it, Gabriella.” He smirked and she swatted at his shoulder and then pointed at Theo.

“And who is that? Can’t I let you run around the streets without you dragging yet another friend in? Does he need feeding too like the last one?” She gestured towards Corey who scoffed. “I didn’t need feeding!”  
“You still do. Look how skinny you are!”  
Corey just rolled his eyes but smiled. “She’s our boss.” He explained to Theo.  
“I’m not.” Gabriella said. “I just tell them what to do with their lives and pay attention that they don’t go to the dogs.” She held out her hand. “I am Gabriella, most call me Gabs or Brie.”  
“Theo, nice to meet you.”  
“You met me. If it’s nice or not is something you should decide later on.”  
“Brie is an insult comedian.” Liam explained Theo and Theo laughed. “My favorite kind of comedian.”  
“If you try to sugarcoat me, honey, let it be known, you’re too young for me.” She told him and Theo grinned. “That’s a shame.”  
Gabriella turned to Liam. “I like him. You can keep him.”   
“Thanks, momma.”

Liam chuckled and then clinked his glass with Theo’s before downing it in one go. Theo smirked and knocked his drink back too. “And he can drink. Those are the requirements for South Grad.” Gabs told him and then nodded over to Corey. “Another round!”

“Theo here is an SZ, Brie, and he had a bad day.” Liam filled her in.  
“I changed my mind, Corey, just give me a whole bottle and three glasses.”   
Corey nodded and handed the desired things over. While Liam filled their glasses, Brie gave Theo a once over. “You’re hiding this body in a suit all day long? That’s a crime.”  
Theo shrugged and accepted the glass Liam held out for him. “It pays the bills.”  
"That does stripping too. Or look at me! I put on my makeup, a wig and ten-inch heels and make fun of other people. So that doesn’t really count. But as long as you like what you’re doing.”  
Theo shrugged. It was what he learned to do and what brought him into town in the beginning. He had no idea what else to do if he was being honest. So he nodded and clinked his glasses with Brie and Liam. 

“Gabs, Theo here got punched by one of those drunk idiots. The one from last Friday.”  
She rolled her eyes and sipped her drink. “Don’t remember me. Didn’t Chico give him a dismissal? Some people never learn.”  
“Who is Chico?” Theo inquired.  
“The guy who took care of the drunkard. He’s kind of the security of the district.”  
“The district has a security?”  
“Kind of.” Corey explained. “Chico and his guys pay attention to all of us and make sure nobody causes serious trouble. Nobody knows what they really do for a living, some say Chico stems from a rich family, but they protect us. That’s good enough.”  
“Here at South Grad, we protect each other and we stick together. Crazy is capitalized here and we are a bunch of misfits but we are true.” Gabriella told Theo.

He sipped his drink and nodded. It must be nice to have something like that. And for the first time since he moved into town, he realized he was lonely. His work had covered that up quite good but days like this made it impossible to ignore the ache in his heart. But sitting there with people he just met and talked made him feel better about himself and for the first time in a long time, Theo could say he had a really good time. 

**Author's Note:**

> This idea came to my mind and as I thought about it, I got a few more idea for further chapters. So I would like to hear your opinion. Is it worth continuing? (I still will continue my Mates series as well as A tale written with fangs and claws, don't worry) This would be just a story I have as an Au because I love Au and I found the idea very intriguing. I would add more chapter if inspiration strikes and I think it could be really cool.  
> So, thoughts? Opinions? Comments?


End file.
